Country Icon George Strait, 73, Fights Back Tears During Emotional Eulogy: 'I Miss Him So Much'
Country superstar , 73, spent his Memorial Day weekend remembering his good friend by delivering a poignant eulogy in his honor.
Roy Cooper, nicknamed Super Looper, was a legendary, eight-time world champion rodeo cowboy who was tragically killed in a house fire at his Texas property on April 29. Cooper and Strait have been friends for decades.
On Memorial Day, May 26, Cooper's family held a service at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, where Strait gave a eulogy for the man he called one of his "very best friends."
In the video, Strait is visibly holding back tears as he speaks about his lifelong friendship with Cooper.
"A few months ago, we couldn't possibly have imagined that this is where we were gonna be this Memorial Day. It's supposed to be honoring our military heroes and the sacrifices they've made. And we're still gonna do that today, and I'm 100 percent sure that Roy would want that," said Strait.
But he continued, "We're also honoring our brother, friend, father, grandfather, loved one, Roy Cooper.
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"Roy was one of my very best friends. I can count those on one hand. He was my hero. We shared a lot of good and bad times together. He didn't hang out with me, I hung out with him. You know, all you people that consider Roy a brother knows that he would give you the shirt off his back and we would do the same for him…Roy was one of the ones that they made that saying about. They broke the mold when they made him. They sure did."
Strait also shared a story about the time Cooper hit up legendary rocker Stevie Nicks at the Kentucky Derby, which he said Nicks absolutely remembered even years later.
"We went to the Kentucky Derby together one year...and we were at a party after the derby. I looked around and Roy's trying to left foot Stevie Nicks," Strait said, adding, "I swear, years later I ran into her somewhere and she said, 'Hey, where's that crazy cowboy friend of yours that tried to rope me in the derby that night?' He always made a big impression, old Roy," said Strait with a laugh, before getting choked up again and saying, "I miss him so much. He was a good man."
Country Icon George Strait, 73, Fights Back Tears During Emotional Eulogy: 'I Miss Him So Much' first appeared on Parade on May 28, 2025
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